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Bee Plant
( Scrophularia californica )
Scrophularia californica
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
Click on blue squares to see occurrence records.
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)
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53 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About Bee Plant (Scrophularia californica)
53 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Scrophularia californica
is a flowering plant in the figwort family, known by the common names Bee Plant, California Bee Plant, and California Figwort. This perennial herb is native to open places of the coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and woodlands in California, where in moist areas it can form large colonies.
The California Bee Plant is a 2-4 ft. perennial with 3 ft. spikes of red flowers. The triangular-ovate toothed light green to blue-green leaves are in pairs opposite each other on a coarse squarish stem. The red-brown to maroon flowers are rounded hollow buds around 1 cm long, with two longer upper lobes, on bloom spikes from February into July.
This species is very prolific nectar producer attractive to small wasps, bees and bumblebees, hummingbirds, and other pollinators. It is the larval foodplant for the Chalcedon Checkerspot butterfly, the plant's iridoid glucosides make the larva poisonous and adults unpalatable.
Scrophularia californica
grows well in part-shade with low to moderate moisture, in the ground or in large pots.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Perennial herb
Size
2 - 4 ft tall
1 - 3 ft wide
Form
Upright
Growth Rate
Fast
Dormancy
Evergreen
Fragrance
Slight
Flower Color
Red
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring
Wildlife Supported
Its nectar attracts bees, hummingbirds, and a species of small wasp. It is a host plant for the larvae of the Common Buckeye butterfly.
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7
confirmed
, 6
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
Variable Checkerspot
Euphydryas chalcedona
Euphydryas chalcedona
Garden Tortrix Moth
Clepsis peritana
Clepsis peritana
Geranium Plume Moth
Amblyptilia pica
Amblyptilia pica
Orange Tortrix Moth
Argyrotaenia franciscana
Argyrotaenia franciscana
Clepsis fucana
Clepsis fucana
Autographa labrosa
Autographa labrosa
Phymatopus hectoides
Phymatopus hectoides
Landscaping Information
Sun
Part Shade
Moisture
Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 53
Ease of Care
Very Easy
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 20F° F
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium
Soil Description
Adaptable to garden soils. Soil PH: 5.2 - 8.2
Common uses
Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens
Companion Plants
Mimulus guttatis (
Yellow Monkey Flower
)
Agrostis exarata
(Bentgrass)
Trifolium variegatum
(
Variegated Clover
)
Salix lasiolepis
(
Arroyo Willow
)
Asclepias fascicularis
(Narrowleaf
Milkweed
)
Alnus rhombifolia
(
White Alder
)
Ranunculus californicus
(
Common Buttercup
)
Equisetum arvense
(
common horsetail
)
Apocynum cannabinum
(
Indian Hemp
)
Clematis ligusticifolia
(
Creek Clematis
)
Aquilegia formosa
(
Columbine
)
Juncus balticus
(Wire Rush)
Salix exigua
(
Narrowleaf Willow
)
Artemisia douglasiana
(California
Mugwort
)
Salix laevigata
(
Red Willow
)
Rubus ursinus
(
California blackberry
)
Rubus parviflorus
(
thimbleberry
)
Rosa californica
(California Wild
Rose
)
Baccharis salicifolia
(
Mulefat
)
Golden Yarrow
(
Eriophyllum confertiflorum
)
Showy Penstemon
(
Penstemon spectabilis
)
Sunset Zones
?
4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*
Natural Setting
Site Type
Slope bottoms, north facing slopes, slightly moister places that receive 11-85 inches of rain per year.
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.4" - 71.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 4.20", Coldest Month: 21.1" - 56.4", Hottest Month: 46.0" - 83.5", Humidity: 0.01" - 34.47", Elevation: -40" - 10537"
Alternative Names
Common Names
: California Bee Plant, California Figwort
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Bee Plant
Scrophularia californica
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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